


(Un)Graceful Beginnings

by Falsuries



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, F/M, Homestuck - Freeform, Humanstuck, katnep - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:49:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4338134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Falsuries/pseuds/Falsuries
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dave's dragged Karkat to a concert where one of his favorite bands is playing based on a series of bribes. While not originally excited to go, Karkat ends up having an interesting collision with a girl named Nepeta Leijon, who though his time with is brief and more filled with embarrassing memories than tangible emotions, he can't seem to get out of his head. Is this a one-time occurrence, or is fate meant to repeat itself in this case?</p>
<p>((First chapter is a reupload because I literally deleted the whole thing by accident trying to add the second chapter. Been an offnight, sorry for the mishap :( ))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just had a really bad urge to write Katnep: Please note a "_" line-skip signifies it will switch to Nepeta's point of view for a bit; in future chapters I will likely stick with only one character's viewpoint for the whole chapter, but I didn't feel I could efficiently create this chapter without showing both's thoughts and personalities.Whether I update this regularly is up for question, but I honestly think I will be. Revisions may not always be the best, but I'm also not used to writing fanfiction so sorry about that. Also keep in mind this started thanks to an AU prompt on tumblr which basically said "Your character taps on the others at a concert to ask a question and shit they're gorgeous now you've repeated yourself 5 times," so instead I wanted to make Karkat as damn flustered as possible. Watch the crab squirm.  
> Oh, and if there's a lot of backstory, that's because I'm planning this so I can efficiently write a much longer story instead of a one-shot. Sorry if it gets tedious at those points, but I want to make sure I establish some basic principles in the au I'm creating so I can better know where different characters and relationships will stand; not just Karkat and Nepeta.

“Aw shit, here comes Bastille,” exclaimed Dave Strider in his signature monotone voice, a slight smirk on his face.

Karkat and Dave stood right at the head of an all-day concert raging in front of them, where they were surrounded by fans screaming their lungs out on every side. It had been a hell of a long time since Karkat had even considered coming to an event like this, and as he got shoved from side to side he recalled why. He had never been much of a ‘people person’, and being here made him simply want to sprint a fucking marathon out the front gate while chanting “nope nope nope nope.” Unfortunately he’d promised his best bro and roommate Dave that he’d go, and also been promised a 6-month Netflix subscription if he didn’t back out.

 

“It would seem so,” grumbled Karkat through gritted teeth, already getting peeved off by the rabid crowd bruising against him. Despite the horrible surge of people however, he couldn’t help but feel a spark of excitement as one of his favorite bands walked out to take over the stage. Of course he wasn’t going to express that jittery feeling aloud, the LAST thing he planned on doing was giving Strider the satisfaction of knowing he actually enjoyed himself. If that happened, he’d never live it down. It’s not like his gruff attitude was out of the ordinary anyways, he’d always been that way since they’d met; angry, sarcastic, and vulgar. Nonetheless, he couldn’t help but feel a slight smile tug at his lips as Bastille began to play and one of his favorites, Things We Lost In The Fire, was the first track to leave their lips.

 

‘These are the things, the things we’ve lo-ost, these are the things we lost in the fire fire fire’

 

As the words echoed through his head, his expression melted into one of content, a rare feat considering how strung up he constantly seemed. The music helped calm down his racing thoughts and take back some of the resolve he’d lost since they’d all graduated from high school 2 months prior. With that accomplishment had come a thousand burdens of adulthood Karkat hadn’t been close to preparing himself for. One such prospect was the idea of him actually attending College. While they all were getting in for practically free, thanks to some leeway through their friend Feferi’s family owning the Empress University they were attending, he still had no idea what the hell he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing.

On top of that bombshell, he’d also gotten himself into another clusterfuck of dilemmas right after graduation. Yearning to get out his family’s house and start making something of himself, he’d immediately made the rash decision to pack up his things and move into a flat with his douchebag of a best friend, Dave Strider. I mean, him being eager to get out wasn’t because of family issues or anything; to be honest, he’d had a great family.

Karkat had lived his entire life with only his father and three siblings; Kankri, Damara, and his twin sister Aradia. Their mother had died giving birth to Karkat and Aradia, so for the most part he had no recollection of her: what he did was pieced together from old scrapbooks and recounts from his dad. They’d all always been caring and supportive of him in their own unique ways, especially Aradia.

The two of them looked pretty similar; both had thick ebony hair that constantly stuck up in odd angles with Aradia’s going past her waist, caucasian skin with splotches of freckles on their faces, almond-shaped faces accommodated by a thin mouth and spiraled nose, and scrawny frames, both of them measuring at only 5’7 by their senior years. The two also shared one signature feature though that had made their life’s hell since they were born; their muddled crimson eyes. While Aradia’s were a bit darker than Karkat’s, it was still hard not to notice when approaching either of them. It had been thanks to some bullshit mutation when they were born prematurely; their eye pigments hadn’t fully developed or something, and so what was open instead refracted the light of blood vessels behind them or some shit. So while there was a tad of brown, there was also a lot of red. Honestly, he couldn’t care less about the scientific explanation: only that there was no cure, and the two were stuck with it.

In school it had made maintaining any lasting friends who didn’t see you as some animal at the zoo difficult. For the first few years he’d mainly stayed with Aradia, the two of them warding off anyone who tried to come close. Though over the years the two of them started making friends and forming a group of people they trusted; typically the rule of thumb that if someone became friends with one of them, they became friends with both twins. At first it was slow; Karkat could only rely on a few people other than Aradia, like Sollux, Terezi, or their cousin Kanaya. Once they were in Middle School though, he started meeting more people like Dave and his other obnoxious pal, John Egbert.

The two of them had persevered through school this way, and Aradia had always been  there to stick up for them as kids when people would tease or stare at them. Though they weren’t as reliant on each other now, they still remained close as hell; and in the end, she was the one who had been most supportive of Karkat. His whole family had always been as encouraging as possible though, trying to embrace the retinal difference alongside the two twins. He remembered when Kankri had started wearing that candy red sweater in an attempt to cheer Karkat up after a bad day of teasing, or when Damara got those two definite red streaks in her hair to represent and encourage them.

I mean, yeah, he always acted pissy around them, but that was just his way of showing he appreciated them, a feeling they reciprocated.  If he wanted, he would have definitely been allowed to go back home anytime: of course, he wasn’t going to do that and have to stand before his brother to admit he was wrong though. No, he was going to prove that he could come out and make something of himself on his own for once. No older siblings to baby him, no Aradia to fight his battles. Just him.

 

“You doing okay bro?” asked Dave, causing Karkat to visibly  jump out of his stupor down memory lane. “You’ve been sitting there staring into space for like, three minutes now. Now I don’t know what magical shit’s going down up there to hold your ass in its loving embrace, but it must be pretty unfuckinimaginable if it can pull your eyes off of Bastille.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry if I can’t have a moment to myself, my thinkpan had the audacity to space out for a second.” shrugged Karkat sarcastically, “not a bad plan though, seeing as it blocks out the earsplitting screams of all these clashing assholes around me.”

Doing his best to make an overly dramatic face of mock hurt, Dave struck back “You do realize one of those clashing assholes is your best bro, right? The one who liberated you from your shell of blankets and netflix to come watch a bombass concert with him tonight?” Glaring directly down his nose whilst pouring as much malevolence into his eyes as humanly possible,Karkat replied coldly “Oh trust me, I’m more than aware.”

 

Dave simply rolled his eyes at Karkat’s frigid stare and false barbs, instead turning his eyes back to the lights of the stage with a faint smirk on his face. Karkat just shook his head as a faint scoff of laughter escaped his lips.

Thinking back to his previous thoughts, Karkat decided maybe tonight wasn’t the best time to bring those memories up. I mean yeah, normally he’d do his whole self-pitying spiral of locking himself up and erupting on anyone who tried to talk to him, but tonight he couldn’t muster a single fuck to give as he followed Strider’s gaze up to the stage again. Oh well, he thought to himself, might as well try to enjoy myself if I’m here. Besides, it’ll make Dave happy at least.

Bastille continued uninterrupted for the next half hour when they finally announced they’d be taking a 10-minute intermission. As the crowd dispersed a bit from people going off to scrounge for food or open portapotties,  Karkat looked down at his own stomach only to hear a ravenous gurgle reverberating throughout it. Welp, he thought sluggishly, if I’m going to stay around with these dipshits for the rest of the night, I might as well eat.

Grabbing Dave’s shoulder, Karkat shouted “Hey Casper the bulgehumper, I’m going to go get some food, I’ll be right back,” before beginning the trek to the foodstands scattered throughout the field the concert was in. He almost fell straight forward as something hard hit him  in the back of the head, and he heard Dave shout “Get me something too, smurf!’ Whirling around, he stooped to pick up the item of his hatred; a leather wallet stacked full of useless cards and loose bills. Stuffing it into his pocket, he huffed off to the stands while Dave continued to chuckle behind him.

 

As he wandered amidst the loosely-packed food-stands, he let out an anxious sigh of relief. He absolutely hated big crowds and how claustrophobic they made him feel; like he’d said, he wasn’t a peoples’ person by any stretch of the word.

He walked along the crinkling grass, still muddy from a storm earlier in the day, rubbing his arms for some warmth now that he was out of the crowd. He’d been dumb enough not to bring a jacket, and now he was freezing as frigid blasts of wind assaulted him here and there. Drifting between booths, he looked feverishly for something that would be hot enough to warm him up. Finally, his eyes settled on a greek stand off to the right with their grills freshly lit. Even better, there were only two people in line; some preppy asshole in what appeared to be a suit (why he’d wear that here he had no idea), and behind him some girl who was anxiously shifting back and forth.

Lurking up to the booth, Karkat hung along the fringe of the line in a desperate attempt of avoiding any social interaction whatsoever. Unfortunately for him, that meant he had to squint in a futile attempt to make out the small-print menu hanging above the stand. Finally he worked out what he was going to get; a gyro with extra meat and tomatoes. His father used to make them all the time when they were younger, and just thinking about it brought the rich flavor back to his tastebuds. Those were good memories, and thinking about them made him smile internally.

As he began browsing for whatever the hell he’d pick for Dave, the man in the suit finished his order and walked away, only to be replaced by the girl behind him. “Hi!,” she squeaked in a cheerful voice, “ May I purrlease have a chicken gyro with extra meat?” Seeing the girl working the grill swerve away to complete her order, she quickly called “Oh, and don’t furget extra cucumber sauce!” So she makes cat puns huh? thought Karkat, overhearing her order. Okay then, that’s pretty fucking weird, but also kind of cute I guess.

Within the minute, the woman had whipped together the order for the girl in front of him, who looked to be an odd mix of nervous and jittery. She kept bouncing along the balls of her feet, swaying back and forth while she waited excitedly. As soon as she had her food in hand, she dashed the money for her meal on the counter and turned to sprint off with her prize. Swirling her head back, she quickly screeched “Thank you! I hope you have a pawsitively great evening!” before turning back just in time to see herself collide right into Karkat.

The pair clattered to the floor, hot grease and food going everywhere. “Oh god, I’m so sorry! Are you hurt, did you burn yourself?” screeched the girl on top of him, shaking his shoulders so violently he felt like his head would roll off his neck.

Feeling his anger starting to boil up inside, Karkat slowly pried his eyes open and let venom seep into his voice.

“You vacuous nimshit, is it that much of an enigma for you to look wh-” he started to hiss before he looked up into the eyes of the girl frantically shaking him back and forth and his jaw fell slack.

Staring down at him were two frantic orbs, both deep pools of the same verdant olive-green you’d see just as Spring began to emerge. They were flecked with specks of brown along the outer edge, and framed by strong yet trim eyebrows. Her nose was gently sloped and slightly rounded near the end, while her mouth below was thin, curving up slightly at the center, and containing sharp protruding canines. The structure of her face itself was rounded with high cheekbones, framed by a gown of flattened shoulder-length hair that gently curled up at the ends and bounced around every time she shook him.

“Beautiful…” finished Karkat, as his anger vanished and he laid in her arms staring up slackjawed.

“What!?” she screeched, pulling back in surprise and almost dropping Karkat in the process.

“I-I mean.. FUCK!” cried Karkat, feeling his whole face flush red as the words shot out of his protein chute. Way to go fuckass! he thought to himself, you open your eyes for 5 seconds and immediately begin spewing fathomless bullshit like you’re mouth’s a clogged loadgaper.

Frantically turning back to his would-be assaulter, he nervously glanced back and forth at her freckled face and fumbled for some way to cover-up his outburst.

_

As the girl watched, her accidental prey’s face switched through an enumeration of emotions. First he went from an exasperated fury to a slackjawed awe as he saw her (rather flattering, if she might add), followed by an expression of humiliation as he stumbled to fix his horrible blunder. Seeing all of this, she couldn’t help but let out a small snort befur breaking into a fit of giggles. This guy was actually purrty funny, and maybe even a bit adorable! Even now, he was blushing almost as red as his eyes. Wait, his eyes?

“Hey what the fuck!?” protested Karkat as she slapped her hand over his mouth and simultaneously tilted his chin up as she leaned in close to examine his eyes. Looking closer, there was no mistaking it now; she could easily make out the red reflected throughout his irises, forming a muddied cherry look.

How’d she not manage to see that befur? Gah, her senses were getting unattuned;  she suppawsed she’d have to work on getting them back in order later.

Seeing how she curiously glanced at irises, Karkat’s brow turned inward as he glared daggers at her. *eep!* she screeched, pulling her hand away from his mouth as she felt something wet and slimy drag itself across her palm. “Did you just furicking lick me!?”

Huffing to himself proudly, “I picked up the habit from a friend. And if you ever try that again, I’ll be glad to give a second showing!”

Looks like this kitten has claws, she thought, smirking at his crabby defiance.

Pushing herself up off the ground, she brushed off her baggy camouflage cargo pants and simple black t-shirt with a Leo symbol on it. “Need a hand?” she offered, reaching down to help up the poor boy trapped below her with an inviting smile on her face.

Karkat looked down briefly, sighing, before reluctantly accepting her hand.

“Sorry for that incident! My names Nepeta by the way,” she seemed to purr out in apology, “now that I’ve shared my name, how about you share yours?” she finished off, widening her smile and displaying her fierce canines.

Looking up at her and taking a gulp, he replied in a cracked voice “I’m Karkat, the dumbass lucky enough to get caught under your greasy Greek protein barrage.” She couldn’t help letting out another chuckle at this metaphor. Karkat sure seemed to be silly from what she’d seen so far.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Karkat,” she sweetly replied, fully lifting him back onto his feet. Still nervous from the elaborate mess that had just occurred, Karkat instantly tried to step back in an attempt to get a little more space between the two. That is, before he again slipped on the damp earth and instead toppled both him and Nepeta back onto the ground with him sprawled on top this time.

As he came down on the ground, he immediately began trying to get back off her, his entire face turning red as his actions instead turned to spastic flailing that aided no results. Nepeta just laid there laughing so hard she could barely breath. The chances of them both falling twice like this, mixed with his priceless reactions, was too much for her poor lungs.

“Oh and PLEASE enlighten me, what’s sooo funny cat-girl?!” fumed Karkat as he again turned to glaring down at her.

Giving a mischievous grin, Nepeta shot back “Not much, other than the victim turned predator on top of me, who by the way is throwing quite theadorable fit!”

Karkat’s face finished it’s transition to a deep maroon as his fit slowed down and he turned his down down in a mix of frustration and defeat.

He may have claws, but he sure is cute she thought to herself as she eyed him curiously. I mean he doesn’t even seem actually angry, just embarrassed!

Finally Karkat managed to slip his way off Nepeta, instead falling onto the ground beside her with a large *oomph* as the air was drove from his lungs. As his antics finally came to an end, Nepeta wiped the tears from her eyes as her cackles reduced significantly. Bounding to her feet in one sure motion (and avoiding the puddle Karkat had managed to fall back down in several attempts when trying to get up) she walked over to him and again offered her hand for him to take. This time he did so without hesitation, now partially covered in mud and slightly shivering.

The first thing she noticed now that they were properly facing each other was that he was only about an inch taller than her, before she quickly stole another glance at his eyes from earlier and earned herself another glare.

“Well that was sure was an expurrience!” she exclaimed, regaining her toothy smile. Nervously stirring her foot into the ground now that they were back into a normal conversation, she admonished “though I am furry sorry for, ah, running you over in the first place. Even if I don’t regret what happened afterwards of course.”

Still sitting with a flabbergasted expression and worn out from his antics, all Karkat seemed to capable of was nodding in understanding. After picking up that he was still a bit out there, Nepeta rolled her eyes and decided to take the initiative.

“It was nice meeting you Karkat, I hope the rest of your concert is fun! Oh, and before I forget….” she started, pulling out a pen and grabbing a napkin from the stand. Scribbling onto the napkin, she finished “ maybe later, purrhaps we could talk again? I always love making new friends, and you seem quite funny with all your shenanigans.” Finishing what she was writing down, she quickly thrust the napkin into Karkat’s hand and pocketed her pen.

“Uh huh, sure” was all Karkat managed to muffle out in a zombified tone, performing what looked like for him going through the motions.

“Great” replied Nepeta, undeterred. “I guess I’ll hopefully talk to you later then. For now my friends are purrbably worried sick! Goodnight Karkat, I hope you enjoy the concert.” she rushed out in a cheerful tone.

Dashing away in the direction of the concert again she shouted “Don’t furget about later!” before shoving her way into the crowd and setting off in search of her friends. She’d been gone a pawfully long time, hopefully Feferi hadn’t gone too far.

_

Looking down into his hand, he opened the napkin up to reveal in large tidy letters the words  **Pesterchum: arsenicCatnip**  written down.

As he did mental backflips trying to recap everything that had occurred, the only adequate saying that proved useful in leaving his mouth was “what the actual fuck just happened?” He’d been tackled to the ground in a mess of Greek cuisine and human limbs, been shaken to death by a maniacal girl who made catpuns in every sentence, been helped up by and fallen BACK ONTO said girl, before finally getting up and having her give him her pesterchum before she disappeared in the crowd again. That was actually quite a gaping load of bullshit shenanigans to take in.

Forgetting entirely about why he originally was out here, he stuffed the napkin in his pocket before mechanically walking back into the concert to where he and Dave stood, still preoccupied with trying to sort out exactly what just happened in his mind.

As he arrived Bastille was beginning their final song of the night, meaning he’d been preoccupied for over half an hour.

“Yo Karkat, I was beginning to think you’d snuck out and abandoned me back here. Would have been a shame to lose that Netflix subscription when you were almost there,” smirked Dave, acknowledging his return.

“Yeah right, Strider. As much as I’d love to leave this incessant prison, you are IN FACT still my ride, remember? I doubt I’d get very far without a damn car.”

Dave eyed him coolly, a smile plastered on his face. “Oh yeah, guess you were stuck with me all along: how lucky of you. What took you so long over there anyways, and where’s my grub?”

Looking down, he suddenly realized he’d gotten so caught up in the series of events going on, he’d forgotten to get them both food. Groaning, Karkat replied “ I got sidetracked on my way. In fact it’s a really long story, and I’ll be more than happy to drop it on you once we’re on our way out of this self-incarnated hell, preferably with some fast food in tow.”

“Is that so?” remarked Dave, his eyebrows already beginning to rise up his pale brow.

“Don’t you dare start that shit,” snarled Karkat. “This is an eyebrow wiggling-free zone. No wiggling is to take place while within 25 feet of Karkat Vantas!”

“You can’t stop them now, bro. Once these suckers start going it’s like clockwork; the coal’s been fed into the engines and this train’s off the fucking tracks now, there ain’t no stopping it. You just have to lean back and accept the inevitable crash that’s about to happen into this fucking brow-wiggling paradise.”

“God damnit Dave, there will be no wiggling bullshit tonight!” Karkat shouted, practically pulling his hair out as he looked indignantly at Dave.

Raising his hands in defeat, Strider stepped down. “Alright, alright. Since the mighty Vantass has proclaimed it, I will reel in this mighty brow-wiggling for the time. Now come on, let’s get out of here so I can hear that fanfuckingtabulous story.” Jerking his thumb back at the stage, he finished “The song’s ending anyways.”

*

Karkat leaned his face against the cold glass, staring out the car window as they cruised down the main road on the way back to their apartment. Bright lamps flickered into his vision here and there, illuminating the small patches of pavement and far-off houses.

They’d left just as Bastille finished off their last song and the concert began coming to a close, ending at roughly midnight. Being one of the first out the gates, they took off full-out sprinting to their car in an attempt to avoid the web of traffic that was about to hellaciously seep onto the roads.

Once they’d finally made it to the car, the two crawled in panting and exhausted. With no words asked, Dave lit up the ignition and started the slow drive home. The only stop they made was at a random McDonald’s to quickly order the food Karkat had failed to deliver earlier.

Other than that, the pair drove in relative silence, with only the slow buzz of the radio playing some obscure electronic song that Dave always managed to dredge up.  Dave himself focused mainly on the road, bobbing his head to the music and glancing over at Karkat every so often, who was staring open-eyed out the window, admiring the dazzling lights above them.

“So,” started Dave as he glanced back at Karkat, “are you going to tell me your wackjob story about what went down back there, or am I going to have to get creative.”

Groaning, Karkat replied “And what is your definition of ‘creative’ exactly?”

Dave cocked his head and replied slyly “You know me man, my messed up mind can do all sorts of acrobatic pirouettes, jumping to conclusions like a fucking tiger on a trampoline.

Already knowing he’d regret it, Karkat inquired “Why a tiger?”

“Because once I get a whiff of this bullshit, you can bet your damn ass I’m going to pounce on that maligned line of syllables. I’m going to season that shit in proverbs and innuendoes before devouring it for my trainwreck of a thought-process.”

Karkat rolled his eyes, already having come to expect these long tangent similes and metaphors from his friend. “Or I could just tell you the much-less glamorous story, and we could be done with this dumb metaphorical shit with cat’s and gourmet words.”

“Hey that’s up to you man, though if I were you I’d get to your story before I get bored and we go with plan B anyways,” finished Dave, now waiting patiently for Karkat’s recitation. The kid acted tough behind those shades, but in reality Dave was just as courteous as his damn sister, Rose.

Taking a deep breath, Karkat began his exposition on his ‘journey’ to get food. He explained to Dave how he’d gone to just quickly get food and decided on a Greek stand (to which Dave kindly made a gagging gesture), describing the girl in front of him and managing to only blush slightly as Dave’s eyebrows slowly raised, and working his way into how she had accidentally cannoned into him, taking them both to the ground with Karkat underneath her.

“Wait, wait, wait: I thought you said this story was PG, no sexual intentions involved,” interacted Dave with an incredulous smile.

“There ISN’T you damn fucknut, get your mind out of the gutter. And didn’t I say no fucking brow-wiggling?”

“I don’t know, did you?” Dave replied coolly.

“Just let me finish my god damn story,” mumbled Karkat, stuffing his face into the car door.

“Alright, the stage is all yours buddy.”

“Anyways,” continued Karkat, “after that she tried to help me up and, ah, I kind of slipped. And ended up back on the ground, only this time I was on top of her instead.”

“Karkat are you sure this isn’t just the opening to some fucked up porno? It sounds pretty damn close to the opening of a porno.”

“God DAMNIT Dave, it is not the opening to one of your fucking malicious muckshit porno’s, and if you interrupt me again I shit you not I will throw you out of this car and take the wheel myself.”

“Alright, alright; finish your story mister crabby pants, sheez.”

After a disgruntled groan, Karkat rushed to finish off his story before Dave could think of another moronic outburst to make on the subject.

“All that happened was I managed to get off of her, fell on my ass, she helped me up again, and then handed me this while I was standing around with mouth agape like a squackbeast with its head cut off.” As the final words left his lips, Karkat  pulled the rumpled napkin out of his pocket, the ink for Nepeta’s Chumhandle now slightly smudged, but still bold and legible.

At this Dave’s eyes seemed to widen, though it was hard to tell with his damn shades on. “So what you’re saying is, you’ve been holding out on me this entire time, and you’re actually one of the smoothest guys I’ve had the pleasure of acquainting with.”

“What are you talking about?!” shrilled Karkat, “all she did was give me a chumhandle, that’s it.”

Dave rolled his eyes, “yeah, not like there’s anything rare about a guy getting piledrived by a girl making catpuns, then coming away with a way to contact her later. That’s totally a normal occurrance. Oh, and by the way, I expect to be the best man at your two’s wedding.”

“I…” fumed Karkat, words not enough to overcome and express the story his flushed face was already telling. “There will be no damn wedding, there are zero hidden meanings going on, I just have a plain chumhandle from some fucking girl who I don’t even know if I’ll message later and who fucking cares whether I do or why!”

“Mhm,”shrugged Dave confidently, “so you admit you’re thinking about messaging her?”

“I WILL PUNCH YOU IN YOUR GOD DAMN FUCKING MOUTH”

“Save the smooches for your girlfriend, sweetie”

“Why do I hang out with you even?” Karkat wailed.

“Because who else is going to ceaselessly bring up these monumental topics with you and keep your sorry ass from becoming the lonely old man with his cat for company?” Dave said smugly. “But hey, we can shut up about it for this fabulous night if you’d like: can’t promise it won’t be our forward topic tomorrow though.”

“Fine by me” he grumbled as they pulled into the parking lot of their apartment, “as long as you let me sleep in, you can ramble about any pointless magical bullshit your thinkpan decides to salivate over.”

With that he slammed the door open and dashed up the stairs to their apartment, room 612. Lumbering through the front door, Karkat threw anything he didn’t need onto the couch before walking into his own separate room and collapsing face-first into his mattress. The second he hit the soft material, there was no moving him to get back up.

“Night Dave,” he half-mumbled, already falling into the black abyss of sleep. Hopefully the asshat didn’t give him too much trouble in the morning, but for now he was just happy to get some god damn rest. Before he fell asleep though, he couldn’t help but feel his thoughts flick back to the girl he’d bumped into at the concert: she just stuck there in his brain it felt like. And so it would seem he’d fall asleep that way, thinking about her little smile when she’d given him the napkin, her fucking catpuns in every sentence. Overall, not a bad way to start his dreams.


	2. Daily Purposals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after the Concert, and what better way to spend it than as Nepeta Leijon? Though today might be full of friends getting too far into her personal life, not to mention a series of coincidences that seem to all be falling together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey just a note this chapter might be a lot more fluff and simple-reading, sorry about that. I really wanted to establish more kind of elements, so that the next chapter can be entirely Nepeta and Karkat fluff. Though I will say things aren't gonna be easy, and I'm gonna start working on an actual plot after the third chapter. Thanks for sticking around, and sorry I deleted the last chapter by accident ;_;. The night of posting this has been rough, and I accidentally hit the button without fully realizing which one it was.
> 
> ((PS: There were tons of color-codes and italics in here but honestly those got fucked up too and so I might fix those later but atm I just want this one posted >.>))

When Nepeta awoke the next morning, the sun was just beginning its gentle slope over the horizon. She laid in bed, basking in the glittering rays that seemingly danced through the peak in her partially-opened curtains. It was almost as if the beams had taken on a life of their own, slowly climbing in intensity as they illuminated the millions of motes made up of either dust or pet hair lazily flitting through the air.

I could curl up like this furever  she thought, smiling to herself as she scrunched her eyes closed again.  She could still feel her dreams fresh in the back of her mind, though they had been really bizarre last night. The only thing that seemed to really stick in her mind had been her sitting in her mother’s cafe at the one table with all the light always pouring directly onto it. Across from her had been that boy from the concert last night, sipping what looked like a mug of hot chocolate and actually smiling for a change.  Now that’s not something I expected to see  her thoughts seem to grumble,  but maybe that just has to do with the fact I have only seen him acting all grouchy.

Thinking back to last night left a slight twitch in her stomach that she couldn’t quite pinpoint, yet not one that couldn’t wait until later when her brain wasn’t so fizzed from sleep. For now, it was lazy-morning time: Nepeta’s favorite time.

        She sprawled out onto her bed, expanding under the fortress of blankets and pillows piled on top of her as she let her dreams from last night flicker before her closed eyes. Eventually the sun worked its way over the manicured lawns below it, filling her room to the brim with its blinding light.

        When it got too bright for her to keep dozing off, she finally gave up and flipped onto her back with a large *boomph!* from her bed.  _What to do now, what to do now_ … debated Nepeta, staring up and focusing on a fake star on her ceiling.  _Do I get up and eat, or shower first…_   The decision was decided for her when her stomach decided to let out a deafening gurgle.

        Jumping up, she looked around her room as she did a few morning stretches to wake up. She was going to have to work her way downstairs soon anyways before someone came yelling for her; and with Meulin home today, yelling was definitely a key-word.

        Glancing around as she reached her arms above her head to receive a satisfying ‘pop!”, she took in what she always thought were beautiful olive walls; when she was only 5, she’d painted her walls them to represent her favorite color as soon as they’d moved in. I mean her parent’s had helped and she’d mostly gotten paint on the carpet but still, it was the thought that counted.

        Looking closer, the ones above her bed were canvased in papers pinned meticulously about. Each one was either something she’d sketched out, or a random poem or other work of literature she’d create (and maybe more fanfictions than she’d care to admit). On the wall adjacent to it was her window with cobalt blue curtains; a color she’d picked to match her favorite hat. Hanging right next to the window were some of her prized hunting knives; freshly sharpened, she always had thought they had a dangerous beauty to them.

        Her last wall housed a bookshelf reaching from floor to ceiling, stacked to the brim with novels. Beside that rested her old oak desk, sporting her laptop and drawing tablet, as well as her clunky typewriter. She had to admit, it may be unwieldy and impractical, but she just loved writing on the thing. It made her feel like she had gone back in time, and was some fancy journalist writing for the paper each time she clacked away on it.

“NEPETA!” she heard someone scream from downstairs, that someone likely being Meulin.  “COME EAT BREAKFAST WITH ME, MOM’S OUT AND IT’S TOO QUIET DOWN HERE. I MEAN BESIDES ME YELLING. THAT’S PRETTY LOUD. BUT YOU GET WHAT I MEAN.”

Gracefully pouncing down the stairs, she leapt down the last 3 onto the hardwood floors below before throwing herself around the corner and sliding into the kitchen on her fuzzy blue socks. They came up to her knees, and were perfect for the decreasing temperature.

Walking past the table to grab a bowl, she quickly scratched her older sister’s head as she walked by. “Hey Meu! Having a good morning I see?”

Grinning up maniacally at her, Meulin shouted “IT’S GOING GREAT SO FAR! I FINALLY GOT SOMEONE TO HELP ME WITH MY ART FINALS, SO THAT’S ALSO A HUGE BONUS.”

        Glancing over at Meulin while she grabbed the box of cereal, Nepeta expertly tapped her ear at her, a little signal the two had come up with over the years.

        “OH,” Meulin exclaimed, catching on. Reaching up, she began fiddling with her hearing aid, spouting a few words here and there to test the level of it. Meulin had nearly lost all of her hearing when they were younger and the two had gotten into a bad accident. Nepeta had been lucky enough to get out unscathed, but Meulin had permanently damaged her ear drums. Despite that, she still had enough of them intact that she could use a hearing aid to maintain her hearing. And when the aid wasn’t enough, she always had been a great lip reader. Unfortunately that didn’t fix her own vocal projection.

        Scrunching up her face in concentration, Meulin presumably finished her tuning and looked up at Nepeta. “Is that any better?”

Pouring some milk into her cereal and taking a bite, Nepeta gave her sister an A-okay as she leaned against the white granite counter behind her. “So who is this purrtential figure you got to ‘help you’, and how much did it cost you this time?

Meulin shrugged off Nepeta’s accusation with a laugh. “It didn’t cost me anything this time, thank you very much! It’s one of my friends from High School; you remember Kankri, right? He was the one always wearing that red turtleneck when our group met up.”

Nepeta nodded her head in affirmation. “How could I furget someone who always lectured me on ‘corruption in the structure of social stratification’ and how my words could trigger somebody. I doubt it’s even pawsible to forget  him .”

“Oh he’s not  that  bad,” retorted Meulin, rolling her eyes. “Once you get to know him a bit more, you can see past all those charades about triggers and the such. Besides,” laughed Meulin, “if he does start going off, all you do is make eye contact for more than 30 seconds and he flusters off.”

“Good to know,” said Nepeta sarcastically, “I’ll be sure to use that on him the next time we talk, shouldn’t be more than a decade.”

“If by  decade  you mean day, I would have to agree with you!” exclaimed Meulin, a nervous smile plastered on her face.

Nepeta suspiciously looked at her sister’s expression, picking up on the fact there was more to this than she was being told. “What did you promise him exactly, in exchange for helping you?”

        “Uh not much sis, you know, just a few baked goods and the such.” Rushing out her speech, Meulin mumbled “And I may have made a deal that if he helped me then you’d come over and hang out with his brother for a bit while we worked. He has to stop by tomorrow and stay around waiting for their dad to get back so he can pick up some stuff still at the house and he didn’t want to leave him all alone!”

Nepeta looked incredulously at her sister, contorting her face as if to say ‘really? you couldn’t have consulted with me first before making plans?’

“I was desperate!” cried Meulin, “projects are due soon and I still didn’t have a partner, this was like, my only chance!”

Letting out a deep sigh, Nepeta caved and asked “Fine, so we are going over there tomorrow, right?” Meulin nodded vigorously in agreement, causing her long curls to fly everywhere in the kitchen.

“Okay, I’ll hang out with his brother… if in return, you buy me that new set of ivory keys I was looking at the other day.”

“Deal!” shouted Meulin, sprouting up in her seat with excitement. “Oh thank god, thank you so much Nepeta! I promise you’ll enjoy yourself, from what I’ve heard he’s actually knows some of your friends too even.”

Taking another bite of her cereal, Nepeta quirked a brow at her sister. “Is that so? Well I doubt that I have had any word about a new Vantas around town.”

“Technically he isn’t that  new,  in fact you should have gone to high school with him. It’s a shame you two never met there, I think it would have been quite the magical experience…”

Letting out a giggle at her sister, Nepeta waved her spoon at Meulin. “Don’t we have a  rule  against trying to ship each other? One YOU made after the last fiasco we had?”

Meulin just rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, you never know. You guys have like, so much in common from what I’ve heard from Kankri. And he loves cats! You can’t get much better than someone who loves cats.”

Acting like she was mulling it over, Nepeta finally replied “I think I might pass this time. Besides, I haven’t even met him yet and you are already trying this stunt!”

        “It’s just a suggestion!” let out an exasperated Meulin. “You don’t have to crush all my ships before they start, y’know?”

        “I do when they involve me!” chirped Nepeta gleefully. “So who is he anyways?” questioned Nepeta, taking another bite.

        Meulin’s eyes lit up. “Well since you so  kindly  asked, his name’s Karkat!”

        Nepeta nearly choked on her cereal, spraying milk and reeses puffs everywhere as her face lit up red.

        Meulin did a take back for a moment before she processed what had just happened, and her expression was replaced with a shit-eating grin.

        “You already know him, don’t you?” she smirked, her eyes telling there were a lot more questions where that came from.

        “Uh, I forgot! Feferi needed some er, advice this morning on college shopping! I should purrbably get back to her, befur it get’s too late!” she squeaked out before making a mad dash under Meulin’s attempt to grab her and sliding to the stairs before bounding up them 3 at a time.

        From the bottom of the stairs Nepeta heard Meulin shout “You can’t hide up there forever Nepeta!” in-between giggles. “Eventually you’ll have to spill, and I’ll be here waiting!” she trilled, hanging onto the last word as she walked back to the table.

        Nepeta sat on the top step with her face in her hands, concealing an embarrassed smile as the red faded from her cheeks.  Man!  she thought to herself,  why did it have to be the exact same boy? Anyone in town and conveniently I’ve practically run into him twice now! And how is that little puffball of anger related to god pawful and stuck-up Kankri? I mean that just seems so impawsible.

Pushing all her thoughts aside, she stood up and straightened her back before waltzing into her room and collapsing into her desk chair, spinning it around as she plopped into it. The day had only just started, and yet she already felt ready to crawl back into her blanket fort. Not to mention her muscles were still throbbing from the concert yesterday. To be fair though part of that pain  was  her fault, what with how she was practically bouncing off the walls like a kitten on a sugar high all night. When she put it that way, it was a wonder she even got out of bed before 12 this morning!

        Kicking off the leg of her desk to spin herself around one more time (you know, just for good measure) she stopped herself in front of her desk before pulling her laptop towards her. While the whole part of  advising  Feferi about what to get for college had been a blatant excuse to get away from Meulin, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be checking in on her best friend and possibly prying some fluff information about how one of her favorite real-life OTP’s was doing.

        Cracking open her laptop, Nepeta saw Pesterchum already flashing with a notification at the bottom of her screen. Hovering over the icon, she was greeted with a message already sent to her from Feferi. Again with all these coincidences today, it was almost like anything she said came true! Maybe next she could talk to the fate’s about some new art supplies she’d been eyeing…..

        Opening her chat client, Nepeta pressed her hands to the keys and began preparing a reply back to Feferi.

cuttlefishCuller [ CC ] began pestering arsenicCatnip [ AC ]

 

CC: Nep

CC: Neeepeta

CC: Come on sleepy-)(ead, it's already ten!

AC: :33 < *the mighty lioness slowly dredges herself out of her cave, yawning with exhaustion*

AC: :33 < hey fefuri!

AC: :33 < sorry, im just so exhausted after yesterday

AC: :33 < in fact im surprised youre this vibrant the day after!

CC: Well not all of us went off t)(e )(ook yesterday 38D

CC: Remind me next time we go to a codcert toget)(er to bring a leas)( for you, ot)(erwise we may not all make it to t)(e parking lot!

AC: :33 < *the huntress lowers her head in apology*

AC: :33 < sorry feferi!

AC: :33 < its just so exciting

AC: :33 < ive never b33n to a concert befur

AC: :33 < theres simply so many sounds and smells!

CC: Well I'm )(appy you enjoyed t)(e experience 38)

CC: But say, I )(ad a reason for messaging you.

AC: :33 < *ac purrks her ears, curious as to what the mighty empurrress has to inquire*

CC: I was about to go out and run a few errands in t)(e plaza area. Before I did )(owever, I t)(oug)(t I'd c)(eck in wit)( you and see if you were up to join me?

AC: :33 < *mulling over the pawsibility in her head, the huntress decides to join her friend fefuri on her expurrsion*

AC: :33 < hehe, of course fef

AC: :33 < you know im always happy to get out of the house!

CC: Y-ES

CC: I'll meet you at t)(e coffee s)(op down t)(e road, and we'll start off t)(ere wit)( some caffeine, sound good?

CC: You do know which one I’m talking about, right? 38)

AC: :33 < h33h33, well if you are refurring to the one my family owns

AC: :33 < then yes, I pawsitively know where youre talking about

AC: :33 <  and that sounds like a wonderfurl idea!

AC: :33 < ill be there in ten

AC: :33 < gotta get past meulin furst

AC: :33 < but then ill be pawsitively be there :33

CC: That’s awesome! I'll go a)(ead and order for you w)(en I get t)(ere, now )(urry your furry be)(ind over )(ere.

 

cuttlefishCuller [ CC ] has stopped pestering arsenicCatnip [ AC ]

 

        Snapping her laptop closed with a grin, Nepeta quickly twirled the chair towards her wardrobe before hopping out. Throwing the door open, she sifted everything to one side before quickly throwing on a green overcoat and some new jeans. Prowling towards her door, she quickly pounced on her blue hat shaped in the likeness of a cat’s face before gliding back down the stairs in an attempt not to alert Meulin.

        Reaching the bottom, she pulled on and barely managed to tie her blue converse before finally slipping out the door, only calling inside at the last minute “Bye Meulin, gotta go hang out with Feferi for a bit! I should be back this evening.”

        “WAIT,” yelled Meulin, pouncing down the hall towards her as she locked the door behind her. “YOU NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT EARLIER THOUGH.”

        “Oh whoopsies, would you look at that!” called Nepeta through the door as she turned to walk away. “I guess I furgot!” she laughed as she jogged through the damp grass to the sidewalk.

        She lived right down the street from the main shopping district where everyone had private businesses setup, so it would be a rather short walk down to her family’s cafe. She pulled her coat close as a cold winter breeze rocked against her, and started her walking to get out of the frigid air.

        By the time she reached the coffee shop and managed to spot Feferi through the window, she hadn’t even managed to break a sweat. She doubted if anyone even could sweat in weather this cold, to be entirely honest.

        Walking inside, she was greeted by the familiar chiming bell above her as she cracked the door open. As she did, Feferi looked up excitedly and greeted her with the most toothy smile she could manage. Waving enthusiastically, she gestured for Nepeta to come sit across from her at the table she’d laid claim to. Conveniently, it was her favorite table in the entire building: the same one from her dream earlier, as well.

        Nepeta looked down at her smiling friend as she approached the table. The two of them had instantly hit it off when they were 5, and both of their parents had moved into the neighborhood at the same time. They’d instantly become inseparable, and Nepeta basically treated Feferi like another sister by now.

        Flipping her seat out, Nepeta plopped down into it and let her head gently descend onto the table with a loud *plop*.

        “Ouch, someone looks like they’ve had a rough start,” tsked Feferi, smiling kindly at her.

        Letting out a faint snort, Nepeta replied “that’s an understatement. I woke up this morning and found out not just to do I have to go to Cranky Kankri’s tomorrow, but that Meulin’s trying to to ship me again.”

        Feferi looked over sympathetically, but with a spark of mirth in her eyes. “We’ve all been there Nep. And as we all know, there is never a way to escape the matchmaking claws of a Leijin. In fact, if I recall,” she said with a mark of skepticism in her voice “aren’t you the one who used your shenanigans to get me and Sollux together?”

        Nepeta looked up in an attempt to look indignant, which was a pretty hard thing to do with a cheesy grin plastered on her face. “I have  no  idea what you’re talking about! I deeefinitely didn’t interfere one bit, and I’m hurt you would make such accusations!”

        “Oh really?” remarked Feferi, “So it WASN’T you who tried to force me to wear an earpiece on my first date with him?”

        “Okay that one may have been me bu-”

        “and don’t think Sollux didn’t tell me about that time you forced a box of chocolates and gardenias into his hands right as he walked up to the door for our movie night. The threat to cut off his manhood if he so much as breathed on me was a nice touch by the way.”

        “Why would he tell you about that!”

        “Plus there was this one time I’m pretty sure you snuck into my room when he was over and put in a box of-”

        “LET’S NOT GET INTO THAT ONE” nervously shouted Nepeta, her arms flailing back and forth in a vain attempt to cut off Feferi. “Okay okay, I see that maybe you have a valid base for your pursumptions, but that doesn’t mean I always meddle!”

        “Mhm, just most of the time. In fact, maybe whatever Meulin was on to may be a good turn of events, a chance for me to return the  wonderful favors  you’ve done for me and Sollux” threw back Feferi with a devilish grin.

        Nepeta simply snorted in return. “Good luck finding any dirt on that! Besides, I’m the unshippable, remember? You can’t put a portmaster on one of the vessels she’s trusted to watch!”

        “Oh I’m sure a certain empress could watch the harbor for awhile, here and there. I mean it’s going to happen someday, why not let that day be today?”

        “You never know,” Nepeta shrugged, “maybe the portmaster’s scared of the ocean. Or better yet, she hasn’t seen her type of vessel docked in yet.”

        As the two of them argued, a waiter dropped by and dropped a platter of drinks off in front of the two. Feferi was delighted to see her iced coffee, while Nepeta was greeted with a hot cup of chamomile tea alongside a pot of honey.”

        Spooning in some sugar and honey, Nepeta continued “It’ll happen someday Feferi, and when it does I grant you full privilege to tease me all you wish, as is only right in the balance of things.” Stirring her tea, she brought the mug to her mouth and nearly scathed her tongue on the burning liquid.  You’d think I’d learn by now not to do that!  she scolded herself.

        “Damn straight! I’ll make sure to be just as corny and overprotective as you were with me” laughed Feferi, draining almost half her iced coffee in one sip. How she did that and didn’t entirely freeze her brain would always be a mystery to Nepeta. “Anyways,” Feferi continued, “do you want to dawdle on these shipwrecks all day here, or are you ready to help me get some last-minute school shopping done?”

        Looking up from her mug, Nepeta looked peculiarly at her. “Is it really last minute if you’re doing it months in advance?”

        “You know me,” Feferi shrugged, “I’m always one for getting things done early.”

Rolling her eyes, Nepeta agreed. “Fine, but at least let me finish my tea furst! You cannot seriously give me a mug of fresh cameowmile and expect me to abandon it befur it’s all gone! Plus, I need to add a stop to our list and pick up some ink cartridges while we’re out.”

“You’re still determined to use that old thing I gave you?” asked Feferi, shaking her head warmly.

“Of course I am!” she replied, flashing her canines in her best Cheshire-cat smile. “That typewriter is pawsitively amazing, and I love it to bits. Just the way each little click rings, it’s like music to my ears every time I write!”

Feferi smirked at her as she brought her cup up to her face. “ It almost sounds like you’re writing masterpieces when you put it that way, instead of hardcore smut.”

“It’s not ALL smut!” fumed Nepeta, “I write a ton of other things,  you just don’t ever see them.

Giggling to herself, Feferi pressed on. “So you admit that there is indeed smut though?”

“I admit to nothing! Most of my fanfic- stories  are clean, I swear on my writer’s word.”

“Even the ones about all of us?” said Feferi, referring to their shared pool of friends.

“I’ve never written-” looking down as her ears turned red under her hat, Nepeta looked up and finished “okay I’ve only written about all of you a couple of times, and then they were  espurcially  clean thank you very much! Besides, I write more than just romancey stuff.”

“Oh do you now?” commented Feferi, lacing her voice with sarcasm. “So you write like poems and other artsy things?”

“Yes actually,” said Nepeta defensively. “I also have quite an impressive assortment of stories, monologues, and plays! I suppawse you’d know that if you’d been coming over more!”

“Hey give me a break!” laughed Feferi. “I’ve been busy getting ready for College, remember? Otherwise you know I would have been there every day.” Giving a small smile, Feferi finally stood up and drowned the last bit of her drink.

Sighing, Nepeta savored the last few drops left of her tea before reluctantly standing up as well. As soon as she was out of the seat, Feferi had grabbed her arm and was dragging her back towards the freezing cold outside.

As the pair stepped outside Nepeta once again felt the winter air smash against her. Scrunching her face into the rim of her jacket, she drew the entire garment up above her cheeks so that all that was left sticking out were her eyes. This led to an exasperated Feferi when she finally turned around to see the shivering state of her supposed helper.

The duo continued on for hours as they walked through the shopping district, stopping now and then to mess around while slowly whittling the items off of Feferi’s checklist. Whenever they ran out of space or something was simply too hefty to carry around, much like the stack of textbooks that almost crushed Nepeta who swore she wasn’t the one to knock them over, the two would drop them off in Feferi’s car parked outside the cafe. They went on like this with practically no incidents, except possibly when she had accidentally splattered Feferi in the face with an ink cartridge she’d been fiddling with.

By the time the sun was preparing to dip into dusk, they’d managed to cross out almost every item on the list.

“So what else do you have on that list? I would hope a mattress store” yawned Nepeta, arching her back with a series of pops.

“No, no, my dorm already comes with one of those,” mumbled Feferi, not paying her much attention as she examined what she had left to do. “It looks like all I have left is to pick up some old records I ordered.”

Nepeta whipped her head back to Feferi, looking up at her inquisitively. “You ordered new records  here?  As in there’s a shop selling them!?”

Feferi looked down excitedly at Nepeta. “I never told you, did I? You remember that abandoned shop downtown, the one my parents were trying to rent out?” Nepeta nodded in affirmation. “Well,” continued Feferi “one of my friends actually took up the offer! They’re starting their own music business, and he was able to custom order in some for me. It’s actually really glubbing cool!”

Nepeta looked skeptically at her friend. “I’m not so convinced Feferi. I mean, starting a business is an awfurry rough experience, it usually doesn’t end up being as purrfect as it sounds. Still, I guess we could stop by before I reprimand him.”

“Don’t be so worried, Nepeta. Sometimes it takes a little risk to get your reward, y’know? Besides, he practically grew up working with this stuff: he know’s what he’s doing.”

“If you insist” she rumbled out before being dragged through the maze of streets. The two didn’t even stop as Feferi pulled her around a corner and straight through a freshly painted door. The only thing Nepeta could make out before being pulled inside was a bright red sign hanging above them saying “Strider Sounds”

As they finally came to a halt, Nepeta took a moment to gawk at her surroundings. When she heard the guy was just starting out she’d imagined maybe a couple guitars, basic supplies, the usual. Instead she was met with entire walls dedicated to violins, ukuleles, Cellos; there were shelves full of anything from turntables to new orchestra bows. If anything, this was one of the most diverse music shops she’d ever seen.

“DAVE!” trilled Feferi, furiously ringing a counter-bell while leaning over to look into the back room. “DAAAAVE, I’M HERE FOR MY ORDER!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Don’t massacre the damn bell if you’d mind” Nepeta heard muffled yells from the back before a guy who looked like he’d never seen the sun and yet stood a head taller than her emerged.

“There you are Dave!” waved Feferi, smiling at the boy who was presumably one of her friends that Nepeta hadn’t had the pleasure of acquainting with just yet. “Nice to see I managed to get somebody’s attention at least.”

“Yeah, that’s one way of putting it, though I will say short and shouty didn’t appreciate it much.”

“He’ll get over it,” smirked Feferi.

“That’s the spirit!” smiled Dave. “Anyways, you’re here to get those old-school records I’m guessing?” he asked, already walking over to the register to work while talking. “I gotta say, I’m thinking of ordering more just for normal sale in the shop. Soon as I brought these in I already had 3 other guys asking me how much they were before I even lifted them into the back room. Like damn, I’d say they were selling like hot cakes but without a stock I haven’t really made any sales.”

“Well I’m glad to hear that!” laughed Feferi. “I mean, I’m always happy to come looking for new ones, and I’m sure my friend here wouldn’t mind either,” Feferi exclaimed as she motioned to Nepeta.

“Oh yeah,” peered Dave, just seeming to notice she was in the background. “Nice to meet another friend of Fef’s. I mean anyone who can get along with her sure as hell is a friend of mine.”

Nepeta smiled back in return, kindly returning the greeting before going back to examining a cello in the corner that had caught her eye. She’d been looking to try out an instrument for some time, and there was something oddly appealing to this one.

“Thanks again for getting these for me” admonished Feferi. “I tried finding them myself, but I was having a reel hard time. Thank god for you, or I don’t know what do!”

“Hey it’s fine, always happy to help when it comes to music. As for why you probably had a hard time finding these,” began Dave with a smirk, “it’s likely because these things are ancient. I mean when things become obsolete they tend to stop being produced, y’know? Just like old cars and everything else, they disappear down that miraculous well of garbage we call the ocean for crabs to play with and jam to. Moving all those legs to your crappy Elvis recordings, explains why they taste so damn good when you fry them up.”

“Oh ha ha, very funny” replied Feferi, dripping her words in sarcasm. “I’m surprised you can even stand the thought of eating a crab when you’re so fond of that one in your house. Like, isn’t that full-on betrayal?”

“Hey man, things are different with the Mayor,” defended Dave. “He’s a crab for loving, not chomping; there’s a damn big difference. He knows I’d never eat him, and I’ll trust he doesn’t seek crabby revenge on me in the middle of the night. Speaking of crustaceans…” Dave turned back to the door he came from and called “Hey Crabby, get your shell out here with that box on my desk pronto!

“FUCK OFF” was all he got in reply

“Is this because I’m making you wear the hat?”

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK?”

“Hey man, you’re the one who didn’t want to hear my teasing over breakfast. You didn’t have to make the deal, but you did. Now either you shuffle that beautiful shellhead out here, or I drag you and the crate out myself. Hell, even better, I’ll put you on display as our mascot. The crabby connoisseur, selling musical gear for Strider Sounds! It was a match made in heaven, don’t you think?”

“Go fuck yourself. and your damn crab too” the voice in the back groaned, followed by a series of loud bangs and shuffles that was presumably him getting the crate.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be about soon” smiled Dave.

        “What crawled in his pants?” giggled Feferi. “He’s more cranky than usual, and that’s saying something!”

“He made a deal he ain’t fit to follow through with, as per usual. I got him to go to that free concert last night, apparently he got KO’d by some girl who bulldozed him and for  some  reason won’t let me tease him about it. Talk about insensitive, am I right?”

At this Feferi let out a full-on cackle. “I had no idea you guys were there last night, we should have all met up! It’s funny Karkat got knocked down though, something similar happened with Nepeta I think last night. She came back half-covered in mud and insisted on riding home in my car like that.”

Nepeta took off her hat from where she was, perking her ears up at the mention of her name.

“ALRIGHT” yelled someone carrying a massive crate as they came out of the back room. Nepeta couldn’t quite make them out yet, as the box was obscuring their face, but she could  swear  she recognized that voice from somewhere. “HERE’S YOUR FUCKING RECORDS, CAN I GO NOW?”

“Wait wait wait, where you going bro? Aren’t you going to show Feferi and her friend your cute hat I picked especially for you? You made the deal afterall, no teasing for me if you wear the hat for all to see.”

“I hope you choke on your own bulge,” mumbled Karkat, stepping out from behind the crate. Besides his normal attire for work, sitting on Karkat’s head was a bright red cap fashioned in the shape of a crab. It even had googly eyes sewn to the top and stuffed legs hanging off either side. “Whoopdie-fucking-doo, what’s up Feferi. Say, do you know anything about hiding dead bodies?” asked Karkat, sarcastically looking at Dave in the meantime.

        Feferi let out a snicker. “It’s nice to see you too Karkat, though I’ll say it’s been too long since we last met up! You need to actually come out some time, you know? Instead of hoarding Romcom’s and blankets in your room.”

        Karkat puffed his chest out, “I come out plenty thank you very much. Besides, my movies are a thousand times better than any of the magical bullshit that fate manages to whip up out here.”

        “Is that why you were binge-watching Soap Opera’s the other night and shoveling ice cream into your mouth?” chimed in Dave, “Shit I’m sorry, I thought you were crying too, must have just been sweating from your eyes.”

        Karkat’s face flushed with surprise. “I told you to stay the hell out of my room, especially  when I’m in there!”

        “Yeah, right” drawled Dave, “and leave you to your moping bullshit. There’s about a good 0% chance of that, so I’d get your socks ready for a good old roommate stalking.”

        Hearing the conversation behind her, Nepeta turned up to see what was going on and nearly dropped the cello bow she was holding. There he was again! By this point it was almost like they were destined to run into each other like this, though maybe not with so much actually running into each other this time.

        “Hey catgirl!” called Dave over to her, “So you actually interested in buying one of those or just browsing the woodworks. I’m sure I can work in a discount for a friend of Fef.”

        “Oh, I almost forgot! Karkat, why don’t I introduce you to  my  best friend finally. I promise she won’t, you know, try to lick you. I wish you would have given me the same assurance before I met Terezi but what can you do,” joked Feferi, referring to when Karkat had introduced her as his childhood friend a couple years back. She’d practically dragged her tongue up the entirety of Feferi’s face that year.

        “Very funny, can you see how I’m verbally laughing? I can barely breath like this,” gruffed Karkat.

        “Save the sarcasm for later, I’d like to introduce you to Nepeta!” exclaimed Feferi, quickly running over to pull Nepeta out of where she definitely wasn’t trying to avoid eye contact behind a rack of cd’s.

        “Nice to fucking mee-” Karkat’s face flushed as he instantly realized who Feferi had just pulled out from behind the rack. In his own quick panic he tried to rip the hat off his head. “Oh no, what the hell do you think you’re doing” said Dave, leaping over the counter and pressing the hat against his head. “We made a deal, remember? Now that hat stays on the whole day, or you’ll find a certain Spade’s litterbox in your bed tonight”

        After Karkat failed to reply, Dave leaned in to repeat himself. “You hear my dog? You know I’ve done it before.” It was only then he realized the expression on Karkat’s face, blanched white as he stared forward blankly. Whipping his head up, he looked over at Nepeta, who had a nervous smile on her face looking directly at Karkat. “Oh no fucking way, this is the girl who trampled you last night isn’t it?”

        “Hell no!” stumbled Karkat as his face flushed red, his expression bristling from what looked like was about to be an explosive rant.

        “That’s all the confirmation I needed” smiled Dave sadistically. “SO!” he said dramatically, “are you gonna introduce me to your new friend, Karkat? Or should I be the one to make first *impressions* here.”

        Nepeta gave out a nervous laugh, “I think I can introduce myself, thank you for the generous offur though.” Turning her attention to Karkat, she started nervously rambling. “Uh, hi Karkat! Odd meeting you here again after bumping you over last night. Well, less bumping and more tacklepouncing. And I mean, there’s nothing WRONG with running into you again, as odd might not have been the best wording there. In fact it’s quite a fancifurl coincidence, in a surprise sort of a way.”

        “Uh, it’s great seeing you too Nepeta. I mean thankfully this time I’m not covered in shitty Greek food and mud which makes for a much better greeting than the last god damn mess contrived from the unfathomable stupidity of circumstance.” rambled Karkat, bouncing around the balls of his feet as he talked.

        “Hmhm, I would have to agree with you there.” Nepeta glanced over at Feferi in the hopes of finding some escape from the awkward encounter. Instead, her expression paled as she was greeted by a shark-tooth smile and devilish expression as Feferi watched the two of them interact.

        “So you’ve already met good old Karkat here, have you Nepeta?” asked Feferi, her voice heavily indicating she knew the answer. “Man, I can’t believe it was him you trampled last night! I mean, usually Karkat would explode on anyone who would do such a thing. Buoy oh buoy is that an interesting development. Say, weren’t you telling me last night how cute the kid you ran over was?” As she finished her rhetoric monologue, Feferi’s devilish appearance only grew more grim for Nepeta.

        “Uh ha ha, you’re such a kitter Feferi! Now come on, I need to get home to feed Pounce,  remember?”  nervously laughed out Nepeta. Meanwhile her expression read  if you don’t leave here with me right now you are going to suffer.

        “ Why so quick to leave?!” laughed Feferi, her eyes lit with excitement. “I mean maybe we should stick around and chat a little longer! Karkat isn’t that bad to talk to you, if I might say” finished Feferi with a not-so-subtle wink to Feferi.

        “I’ve gotta agree with goggles over there” chimed in Dave, “you can do much worse than little old Kitkat…” As he held onto the end of the sentence, Dave looked slowly over to Karkat, slowly raising his eyebrows.

        “Oh HELL fucking no, those eyebrows had better not descend you fucking condescending blonde prick. We are NOT started the brow-waggling express of fathomless bullshit again, do you hear me Strider? One round of your motored railway of freudian Ideologies is enough to fucking last a year!”

        Nepeta couldn’t help but let a wane chuckle escape, despite the awkwardness of the whole situation. _Damn_   she thought to herself,  _ his rants are just impawsibly silly. I’d be lion if I said they weren’t kind of cute though. _

Feferi jolted her shoulder, tagging her back into the conversation. “So, you seemed awfully flustered talking to Karkat in his adorabubble hat” stated Feferi.

        “Uh well you know how it goes” Nepeta began as she nervously backed up, “Not that great at talking to new people, right?”

        “Uh huh” nodded Feferi teasingly, “well why don’t the two of you hang out some time? I mean, you two have so much in common; you could keep Karkat company during his movie-spree’s!”

        “Oh hell fucking no” interjected Karkat, peeking out from the corner of the back room. He’d apparently escaped from Dave and was now holding him back with a broomstick. “I  know  you aren’t trying to force me into a shittacular series of events that you are going to ‘lovingly’ shove down my protein chute. Afterall, you promised you kindly  would stay the fuck out of that area of my life without any condescending remarks on how it remains an enigma because, what’s that? It does not EXIST, and will especially continue not to as long as you continue to interfere!

        “Yeah I entirely agree with Karkat over there, Feferi! Now why don’t we grab those records and get home, I’m sure Meulin wouldn’t mind some help with dinner anyways” rushed out Nepeta, already forcing the crate into Feferi’s arms before grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the door.

        “Hey wait Nep, I haven’t even paid yet!” Feferi protested.

        “Oh it’s fine sis,” shouted Dave in between bouts of laughter. “Just bring the cash buy next time you're here, I’ll even knock off half the price for this beautiful little reunion.”

        “Bye Dave, bye Karkat! I’ll see you tomorrow morning!” yelled Nepeta, already shoving Feferi out the door and down the street.

        “Wait, tomorrow? What the fuck are you talking about!?” Karkat shouted after her, just in time to hear the door slam.”

        “Looks like somebody has a date” whistled Dave, much to the dissatisfaction of a groaning Karkat.

 

        As soon as Nepeta had finished dragging Feferi out the store and around to the next building, Feferi flew back to face her ecstatically, almost dropping her records in the process. “So THAT’s who you ran into last night? KARKAT?”

        Nepeta looked down while facepalming in the middle of the sidewalk. “Yes Feferi, that is him in the flesh.”

        Feferi smirked at her. “Oh come on, don’t act so condescending. I saw how flustered you got back there, miss  unshippable.  It looks like the port master got over her fear of sailing, by the way.”

        “I’ve created a monster” stated Nepeta staley at the mention of ships, “one that is intent on turning my own expurt hobby against me.”

        “That’s right!” chimed Feferi. “The mighty huntress may own the harbor, but I rule the water those ships sail on. It’s only right I decide whether a few sink or drown” smirked Feferi. “Now, let’s get back to the car so you can ‘go feed Pounce’. If I heard correctly, he’s absolutely starving, right?


End file.
